Bish's Blog: May 28th

We’ve heard from management. We’ve heard from the players. Now, we’ve heard from the ownership. Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs and Principal Charlie Jacobs held their end of the season conference call with the press on Wednesday morning and it’s very clear that everyone in Black & Gold remains on the same page – buoyed by an amazing regular season and disappointed by a playoff run that was just too short-lived.

“I was extremely proud of the team we had. I was extremely proud of the management. I was extremely proud of the coaching,” said Jeremy Jacobs. “ I think they know they’ve got something to build on next year and that they feel, as I feel, that we’ve got an organization that can move forward and can really play a roll in the finals of this National Hockey League.”

But this year came to a quick, unexpected end.

“After 82 games, after having the best record in the East, 2nd best in the NHL, best goals against etc…I think our expectations were a lot higher,” he said.

Charlie Jacobs spoke for most of Massachusetts when he said, “I have a bittersweet taste in my mouth today, given that we had so much success in the regular season. It didn’t translate for us come playoff time.

“Of course, the sweep of Montreal was very sweet and it was very bitter in the end when we lost in overtime in Game 7 to Carolina. “

That said, the younger Jacobs agreed with his father in terms of celebrating the regular season.

“Back in September, if you had [told] me if we would have a 53-win season and 116 points at the end of the year, I would have been very happy,” he said. “I do want to thank our coaching staff, in particular Claude [Julien] and Geoff Ward, and Craig Ramsey, “Goalie” Bob Essensa, and Doug Houda for the excellent job they have done.

“I do believe they deserve the Jack Adams award for the best coaching staff in the NHL and I also want to thank our player personnel for the excellent job they’ve done this past season.”

Some highlights:Charlie Jacobs on contract extensions...
“We are in the midst of negotiations with Peter…[who] has a year left on his deal, and we understand there are a lot of pieces that need to fall into place that is after Peter signs his extension, which we anticipate happening sometime this summer.”

Jeremy Jacobs on contract extensions...
“But on the other hand, when we hired Peter, we didn’t hire him for the four years, we hired him for the remainder of his professional career; at least we look at it that way. That’s been our style before. Peter has grown immensely in the last few years and I think he has done a great job…We want to see him around long term and I think that is his objective as well.”

Jeremy Jacobs on the NHL Winter Classic...
“The Winter Classic is owned by the league. And it is their production and is theirs to announce. I have to say that everything I’ve seen acts like, looks like, and smells like it will be in Boston… Traditionally, the league announces that in July and from everything we can tell, it will probably be the biggest classic. First of all, I really want this in Boston. I think our fans want it; and I think our environment wants it. In saying that and adding to it, I think it will be the biggest classic that the National Hockey League has had, the most successful, and the most demanded. I also know that we will only be able to accommodate only our season ticket holders at that point. So, there will be tremendous demand for tickets from corporate sponsors and others. But I think it is going to be a barnburner…So I think its probably been the worst kept secret in Boston, but they wont tell me or confirm to me so until they confirm it to me, which they won’t before the middle of July, we’ll just have to go on the basis that it is going to happen and I believe its going to happen.“

Jeremy Jacobs on job Cam Neely has done...
“I’ve known Cam for a very long time and he has developed into being such a great citizen within the city of Boston and a great character. He has matured and he’s gotten into the hockey business and he understands it from both sides, from the management side and the player side. He’s got tremendous respect within the community and he’s growing and continues to grow. I think that Cam is not only a great person in Boston but he is a great, intelligent hockey person in Boston. We are really fortunate that he came to work for us. I feel that he will provide leadership for the next several decades for this team.”

Charlie Jacobs on job Cam Neely has done...
“I have to say that Cam’s leadership is really felt in all different corners of the organization. From the guys on the ice, if you can recall last year he was down on the ice with Luch and some of our younger players explaining what he understands it takes to win to up here in the board room, we have a weekly management meeting on Wednesday afternoons where we talk about matters that face the club. Cam has been outspoken, very intelligent, very strong leadership, and obviously if you are sitting in a room with Cam he’s going to command your respect. To go a step further, I can say today that Cam’s in Toronto. He has really rolled up his sleeves and gone at all aspects of the organization. He’s out there in Toronto today interviewing our draft selections in the coming weeks. He’s involved himself in just about every aspect of the organization, really rolled up his sleeves [and has gotten] to understand all the different hockey operations and business operations, elements of the business and I think we are a better team for it, I know we are.”